


An Inspector’s Eulogy

by martinisandart



Category: Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020), Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Cuddles, Cute, F/M, crypt of tears, did i mention cuddles, im so in love with them, phrack - Freeform, phryne being cute, references to crypt of tears, semi spoilers read at your peril, they’re so in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:48:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23298838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/martinisandart/pseuds/martinisandart
Summary: Cuddled up in a tent under the rising desert sun, Phryne interrogates, cuddles, and generally loves her inspector over when he first fell for her. (References to CoT, so read at your own peril!)
Relationships: Phryne Fisher & Jack Robinson, Phryne Fisher/Jack Robinson
Comments: 18
Kudos: 142





	An Inspector’s Eulogy

**Author's Note:**

> General consensus is that we’re all crying at this one, folks. Grab your tissues xx

Detective Inspector Jack Robinson turned onto his side, and through half asleep eyes, smiled when he realised and remembered where he was, and who he was with- or more precisely, who was half on top of him, letting out tiny little sighs as she slept.  
Phryne Fisher, wrapped in a nightgown of soft teal silk, looked like a different woman when she slept, Jack thought to himself, not daring to move in fear of awakening her, instead settling for looking at her with what was likely to only ever be described as lovesickness in his eyes- and with good reason: gods, he was lovesick. 

When you’re a Detective Inspector, life is fleeting. One second too early when chasing down a criminal, or one second too late when diving out of the way of a bullet, and everything is over. Life is equally as fleeting if you’re a lady detective- a self-professed one at that. There was a certain level of seriousness that working in the police force entailed; a certain level of power that men had when they wore a button-down shirt and navy suit and were able to hold a badge in their hand that backed up the power that they held. On the other hand, a lady detective does not hold quite the same level of power. As pretty as well-matched dresses and shoes may be, and no matter how well made a business card may be, there was no true power held by someone who simply claimed they stopped criminals. 

Jack stifled a sigh, and turned onto his side, drawing the woman who was asleep in his arms a little closer, and almost tearing up as she let out a happy sigh and nuzzled her head closer into his chest, causing his heart to do the only thing that it had been doing for the past twelve hours anyway: melt.  
He hadn’t shared a bed with anyone since... he cast his mind back, and met a wall: since Rosie. Jack shook his head, and closed his eyes once more, thinking back at how everything had gone so, so wrong with Rosie. Even two months into their marriage, they had stopped sharing a bed, and he knew exactly why. Their marriage had been one of unfortunate convenience- a chance meeting between the deputy commissioner and the mother of a young police constable, and the existence of a daughter who needed a suitable suitor. For want of a better phrase, it had been an arranged marriage, and Jack Robinson, being the noble man that he was, even at age eighteen, had done the right thing. The noble thing. 

There were, of course, much more favourable ways to meet woman, thought Jack- present company included. He smiled as in her sleep, Phryne snuggled a little closer and wrapped an arm across his stomach. Darling woman. As with the rest of their relationship... god, he could use that word now, their meeting had been most unconventional, and if he had been taken aside by anyone in the stifling hot bathroom of the Andrews residence of August of 1928, and been told that he would end up falling in love with the woman who had stuck her nose into his crime scene and annoyed the hell out of him for the better part of a month before starting what could only be referred to as a ‘warm fuzzy feeling in his stomach’ and a request to be on a first name basis. He could never have dreamed it would get them this far- metaphorically and literally.  
What was it she had said last night? For a detective, he wasn’t very observant? He shook his head, and shot another fond smile in the direction of Phryne’s sleeping form. In a way, he supposed that she was absolutely right. He had spent two years falling in love with her, thinking that she was utterly unobtainable, so caught up in his own thoughts of not being good enough that he had been blind to the love that she held for him.  
Jack was drawn out of his thoughts of love by a certain lady detective stretching like a cat next to him, and removing the hand that had been across him to ruffle her hair into a semblance of order, before draping it back across him and opening her eyes.  
“You think very loudly, Detective Inspector.” She said with a fond smile, looking at him so sleepily that his heart melted all over again. He pulled the covers around them a little more cosily, and Phryne couldn’t help but smile again, leaning up against him to press a gentle kiss against his jaw, causing the man to smile, and turn on his side to kiss her properly, making her forget all forms of coherent thought. When they drew apart, Phryne felt somewhat breathless, and Jack just shook his head at her.  
“I do apologise for thinking loudly, Miss Fisher.” His voice was rough with sleep, and Phryne’s heart leapt, feeling her heart become even more tender for the man who had, in fact, unknowingly held it in his hands for the better part of two years anyway. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, her nose, and then her pale pink lips, blissfully makeup free in the early desert light that was filtering in through the tent flaps.  
Phryne grinned again, and moved so that her head was resting on Jack’s chest, giving him the perfect excuse to wrap his arms around her and hold her tight. Her voice was soft as she spoke, and he had to strain to hear her usual, teasing tone.  
“If that’s your apology, Jack, then feel free to feel the need to think loudly far more often... I won’t complain.” 

Jack stifled a laugh, and pulled Phryne even closer to him, relishing in the fact the he finally, finally had her in his arms. They were finally together- two years after she had started shamelessly flirting with him, and if he were to ask her opinion: not soon enough for either of them. He started to smooth her hair, and Phryne practically purred, pressing her head against his shoulder and leaning close into his touch. She too, had been waiting for this moment- for him to truthfully declare his love, for far too long. The airfield had been a long, long time ago, and after having almost lost him again, she needed his touch, his care more than ever.  
“Jack?” she spoke up softly, her voice almost lost to the quiet of the tent, and Jack stilled the movement of his hands, taking the time to listen properly instead.  
“Yes, Phryne?”  
She stretched once more before placing her hands under her chin, and kicking her feet up in the air, dislodging the blankets that Jack had so carefully cocooned around them. He pulled a faux frown, and Phryne laughed, reaching up to smooth the furrow in his brow before speaking again.  
“When did you know?” She smiled tenderly at him, and Jack reached to where her hand was resting on his cheek, and clasped it with his own. She was, of course, referencing their conversation from the night before, where he had confessed all his feelings like a fool, only to find out that she felt the same, followed by a kiss, and things he had only dreamt of doing since 1928. She perhaps had not taken anything seriously since 1918, and in turn, he had taken nothing seriously since 1928.  
He paused for a second, mulling over his thoughts. She had said in the fading desert light the night before, after wasting two bullets from her little golden gun, that she had given him her heart a long time ago, and Jack supposed that was true of himself too.  
“Ballarat.” He heard himself say, and Phryne snuggled closer, still holding onto his hand, and stiffling a giggle.  
“That was awfully early on, Jack, are you sure!?” she exclaimed in surprise, and Jack couldn’t help but smile in his usual downturned manner.  
“Well, yes, but also no.” he said gently, detaching his hand from Phryne’s grip, and cupping the side of her face with his palm.  
“I think that was when I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get rid of you.”  
Phryne laughed wholeheartedly, the noise vibrating against Jack’s chest and causing him to smile in a way that lit up the whole tent. He swatted her face fondly, and kissed her forehead, her trying to wriggle out of his grasp.  
“Are you sure it wasn’t after the Green Mill case?” she said with a mischievous smile, pushing back the covers and jumping out of the bed, pulling her green nightgown around herself a little more tightly as she picked up Jack’s discarded shirt off of the floor and pulled a folded leaf of paper out of his buttoned front pockets. 

Jack sighed, and placed his head in his hands as Phryne jumped back onto the bed and sat across his waist, placing a gentle kiss upon his brow.  
“I cannot believe you kept the mugshots, Jack Robinson!” she said with a laugh, pressing the papers back into his hands and returning to the warmth of under the covers, Jack gazing at her all the while, before they fell into an awkward silence. He unfurled the papers, and looked from the mugshot to the woman he was currently sharing a bed with, gazing at each with a fondness that was uncharacteristic of a dour police inspector.  
“You didn’t read it, did you?” he said quietly, placing the second paper on his lap, and tapping his chest, inviting Phryne to snuggle back down next to him.  
“Of course not, Jack!”  
She looked almost offended at the suggestion, and cuddled back into his chest with surprising force, looking at the folded eulogy with an inquisitive expression on her face.  
“I thought perhaps you could read it to me...?”  
Jack frowned, and Phryne reached up once more to smooth his brow, her voice gentle, tender, and almost too quiet to be heard.  
“I know you said you would save it for the right time, Jack.” She said, pressing a kiss to his jawline once more,  
“But I think we both know that we’re in this for the long haul now. Death do us part and all, even if it’s not in the most conventional of senses.” 

Jack let out a huff, and unfolded the paper, smoothing it before coughing, and starting to read in a melodical voice- deep, slightly sleepy, and what Phryne had for so long inwardly referred to as his ‘bedroom voice’.  
“To Phryne.” He paused, and looked at the woman in question, who was looking at him with such love in her eyes that he thought he might just cry.  
“The Honourable Miss Fisher. What is there to say. We find ourselves celebrating this woman- this daring, ridiculous, delightful woman who has taught us all so much. The woman who took in a maid who had no home, who took in a constable and taught him more than his superiors did, who took in a dour police officer and taught him how to love again. The Honourable Miss Fisher was more than her title. She was a woman who rose up from a world of pain, a world of grit and horror, and fought the demons that had trapped her for so very long. (At this point, Phryne reached over to kiss him tenderly on the lips, before letting him continue) She made the best out of every situation. She could fly a plane, drive her car faster than anyone else I know. She was reckless, fantastic, the most phenomenal woman I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.”  
Jack’s voice cracked, and Phryne felt a tear run down her cheek, watching as he pulled himself back together before trying to continue.  
“She was more than a friend to me. So much as I like to think I loved her, I think she knew I did, and that’s what hurts the most about her death. I’m not just losing a colleague, or a neighbour, but I’m losing someone who I never got to tell the truth to. All I hope is that wherever she is now, that Phryne is with Janey, and they’re both happy. Miss Fisher once said sayonara to me, and now, I say farewell to her. May she always fare well, wherever she goes.”  
He trailed off, and only then did Phryne note the tears streaming down his cheeks, catching in the rivulets in his worn face, and only then did she notice how tired the darling man seemed.  
“Oh Jack.”  
Her voice caught in her throat, and she wrapped herself in his arms, kissing away his tears that seemed to just keep coming.  
“If only you had known that I’d loved you from the get-go. If you’d known I had loved you from that first meeting, and later when I had completely fallen for you at Queenscliff. Darling, darling Jack.”  
He looked at her, and wordlessly pressed another kiss to her brow.  
“My only fear was losing you, Miss Fisher.” He said quietly, thinking back to when they spoke of her fears- and the fact her fears had gotten them here in the first place. 

“I know, Jack.” She said quietly, pulling the blankets back up to their chins, and wrapping her arms around him, silently comforting him.  
“I know.” She paused,  
“And I love you for that. For caring.” 

Jack looked at the woman he loved, and after wiping a tear out of his eyes, smiled, a true, genuine, non-downturned smile.  
“I love you too, Phryne.”

**Author's Note:**

> SOBBING CRYING NOT BREATHING BECAUSE THEYRE NOW A CANON COUPLE THATS ACTUALLY A COUPLE I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS OH MY GOD. Please. I’d die for them. Yell about crypt of tears in the comments or @ me on Twitter, I’m BEGGING YOU!


End file.
